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Burning Ashes - Chapter 10

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Burning Ashes: Shattered Steel

A clatter of metal kicked Silver back into consciousness. A steady beeping repeated behind his head, and another series of less constant beeps echoed farther back in the medical ward. A band of light blue solid energy was wrapped around the middle of his forearms. He didn’t seem to be hurt, but he distinctly remembered passing out on the battlefield after Morokah was hurt.

When he remembered Morokah’s state just before he passed out, he leapt from his bed in a flash. The blue bands dissipated and the steady beeping fell quiet as the boy darted towards the other series of beeps. The sound grew louder as he neared the end of the ward. Silver forcefully shoved open a set of steel doors, opening up the emergency room. The unveiled sight pulled Silver’s heart down.

In the middle of a group of angels, working quickly, lay Morokah’s motionless body. An enormous gash ran from his hip to his chest, displaying his torn muscles and exposed ribs on one side. The angels were working to heal his wounds the best they could, or at least stabilize him. His skin was pale, and seeing him on the operating table diminished any previous power his image would normally send. Instead, a man lay broken and bleeding while his life slowly slipped from him.

A single angel turned his attention to Silver at the opening of the steel doors. His gleaming eyes were solemn, and he could only meet Silver’s gaze for a short moment before going back to work on Morokah. A groan sounded from Morokah’s throat, and Morokah struggled to open his eyes. His now-faded golden eyes made their way to Silver. Slowly, Morokah’s hand raised and attempted a half-wave to tell the angels to leave him be. The angels all exchanged glances before nodding to the dying king and backed away. Morokah’s hand then beckoned for Silver to approach. The boy complied, speechless and shaken at the terrible sight.

“S…Silver…” Morokah groaned out in a raspy voice. “My… time has come… My wounds are… beyond fixing.” The king forced out, closing his eyes and cringing as his weakened lungs attempted to inhale for another breath. “But… This is not their end… They will… be back. You… My son…” At this, Morokah held open his hand to Silver, who quickly grasped it, quivering visibly as he listened to the quiet and forced words. “You must… take my place. The kingdom… is worthless without a king.”

“…No… you can’t die now!” Silver called out, gripping Morokah’s hand tight. “I’m not worthy to be king!” Morokah’s head shook, and he managed a faint smile.

“No… You’re wrong… I was not ready… to be a king when I was… named king, but you, Silver…” A series of coughs erupted from his damaged throat, blood spurting up with each cough. “You will learn in time… But a dead man cannot be… a king…” As the last words trailed from Morokah’s mouth, his hand fell limp, sliding to the operating table with a ‘thump’. His eyes faded, their powerful glow now entirely gone—only leaving a bronze color in their place. Morokah’s head rested back against the leather-covered brace at the back of his neck as the series of beeps now flat lined, filling the room with a shrill steady whine.

One of the angels slowly made his way to Silver, who was frozen in place with his hands still where Morokah’s hand had been. Tears had begun to well up in his eyes, but he continued to stare at Morokah’s bronze eyes. The angel placed his hand on Silver’s shoulder and gently pulled towards himself, attempting to pull Silver from the sight of his dead father. The boy resisted the first pull, keeping himself in place, but when the angel pulled again, he complied, closing his eyes and letting his hands fall limp.

When the angel guided Silver out of the emergency room, the other angels began to cover Morokah’s body and slide a stretcher underneath it.

Silver opened his eyes as the angel that had guided him out closed the steel doors behind them. He saw what looked like the entire medical ward in front of him. They all were studying his face, and from what he could see from the eyes of the armored angels and the faces of the unarmored ones, they could tell what had transpired. At first, they all bowed their heads silently, and as the nurses and doctors raised their heads, all the present armored angels made their way in front of Silver. They all stood stiff and tall before the boy before quickly kneeling before him.

“Lord Silver, by accordance of tradition, you are to be the new ki---“

“Stop.” Silver sharply interrupted. “I know what I am now, but that is not important. My father needs to be respectfully taken care of. The formalities for myself can wait. His blood has not yet run cold, and I do not see a reason to claim the crown yet.” Silver’s voice quivered a small bit at first, but soon was filled with authority and confidence. The angels all stood on their feet in response to his words and nodded. “Until my father’s memorial service, I am still a prince—not a king. I do not deserve that title yet.” As he said this, he walked passed the angels and strode out of the medical ward, leaving all its occupants to complete his orders.

---

Ravir swallowed the lump in her throat as she drew near Silver’s quarters. She had no idea what exactly she wanted to say to him.

“I bet the last thing he wants to hear is anything about the king… I’ll just… Gah, I don’t even know.” Ravir mumbled to herself, glad her helmet made any under-the-breath comments inaudible, as she wrapped her knuckles twice on Silver’s door. A muffled voice sounded behind the door, telling her to come in. She gently pushed the door open and peeked her head in. She spotted Silver sitting on the edge of his bed facing the window opposite the doors. He was hunched over and his head rested on his hands. His elbows were propped against his knees, keeping his head in place. When Ravir reached Silver’s side, she noticed he actually had his face buried in his hands, save for his mouth and nose. His jaw was visibly tense, shifting occasionally as his occasional shivering moved his jaw up and down. Ravir sighed at the depressing sight, and sat down next to Silver. She opened her mouth in an attempt to start conversation, but quickly shot down her idea, as she was on the verge of asking ‘what’s wrong’. She mentally slapped herself for even considering that as an idea, and simply placed her hand on Silver’s shoulder.

The boy raised his head up a bit, resting his chin in his hands now. His eyes quickly moved to her as he turned his head towards her. The usual fire in his eyes was diminished, and all that illuminated his golden eyes was the glow of the setting sun through the windows. The orange and red light exaggerated the wrinkles along his eyes as he kept revisiting the painful idea of his deceased father. Ravir quickly felt her heart sink as Silver’s eyes met hers. She could feel his pain through the look he gave her. The dispersed edges of his hair near his ears and eyes shifted as he pushed his hands away from his mouth.

“I have no idea what to do now, Ravir.” His voice was soft and broken, contrasting his voice back in the medical ward, but matching the powerless look in his eyes. “I didn’t even feel right being called a prince, and now? Now I’m supposed to be a king?” He sunk back into his palms as his jaw clenched once more.

Once again, Ravir found herself at a loss for words. She simply pulled her hand back, pulled off her helmet and gloves, and then pulled Silver to herself. The boy quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He held back sobbing, but tears streamed down his cheeks like a waterfall as Ravir tightened her arms around him. She could feel his body quiver and his fingertips tighten at every exhale.

“Silver, I don’t know what you should do either. I’m not even royalty… but I do know one thing you can do; be who you are.”

Silver pulled back and quirked an eyebrow inquisitively, “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you have what it takes to be a leader. You’ve got a strong will to do good for those around you. You care enough to worry about people calling you a prince. Silver, you truly care about these people, and they know you do. If you didn’t, you would have used your royalty to get everything you wanted 3 years ago, but you didn’t. You have a humble, but powerful soul. People listen to a man with a good head on his shoulders—and that kind of man is you.” Ravir beamed as she spoke, seeing Silver’s face begin to light up as he thought about her words. “Don’t forget your father by any means-- not that I have to tell you that-- but know that he knew you’d be ready to be king. He said it himself. You will learn to be a king.” She cupped her hand against Silver’s cheek, and he gently grasped her hand, smiling a slowly growing smile as his spirit began to lift more and more.

“You’re right. The Dragon Kingdom just lost their beloved leader. They don’t need the next one to be sulking in the dark about how bad of a leader he may be, fulfilling his own worries. Ravir, tell the angels to spread word to the angels and dragons to meet in the main courtyard.” At this, Silver jumped to his feet. Ravir, although happy he was feeling more lively, quirked an eyebrow.

“May I ask why?”

The boy simply turned to her and gave her a kind and warm smile. “Because the kingdom needs a leader.”

---

A pair of demons quickly parted from the entrance of the crumbling as a wounded and furious Vakerys nearly forced them out of his way with a blast of lightning. Annette rushed to the entrance hall of the ruins to meet Vakerys, but she quickly retreated from his path when she got a look at his face. Four seared gashes trailed from his eye line to the corner of his jaw, pulled tight by the ferocious scowl on his face.

“Get me Suleyk.” He snarled, his eyes swiftly darting in Annette’s direction, filled with a mixture of pain and fury.

“Sir, he’s still recov---“

“Did I stutter? Get me him—NOW!” Vakerys’s voice shook the ruins, and as he roared at Annette, sparks erupted up his arms from his wrists to his shoulders. Annette nodded without hesitation and sprinted towards the back room. She shortly came out with Suleyk, who sported a series of large wraps around his abdomen and over his shoulder, covering where Silver’s attack had slashed and burned his body. The pair reached Vakerys, who had been trudging after Annette the second she went to get Suleyk.

“Commander Vakerys, what did you need me for?” Suleyk forced out, trying not to stress his chest while speaking. This was in vain, however, as Vakerys’s clenched fist struck him dead center of his chest. Suleyk’s body buckled before Vakerys picked him up by his neck, now level with Vakerys’s furious glare.

“What I needed you for was to stop that little shit of a prince back in those valleys! You failed me, Suleyk! If you hadn’t fucked up a task of killing a 13 year old inexperienced brat, I would’ve finished off Morokah and eradicated the rest of the kingdom!” As Vakerys’s voice grew deeper and more ferocious, his eyes widened and sparks of lightning erupted from his wrists, shoulders, and from his shoulder blades. “I had Morokah’s body nearly cleaved in half, and that runt somehow found a new power and stopped me! Your incompetence has been an obstacle in my way for the last time!” With this, Vakerys tossed Suleyk down and conjured his scythe, poised to swing the blade down on the already-wounded dragon’s neck.

However, a very human-like demon stepped forward from behind the wall of observing demons. His body appeared least beastly than the other demons, but his armor appeared more extravagant and heavily plated. He wore a helmet that covered all but his eyes in a single open bar that arced upward at the bridge of his nose.

“Lord Vakerys, if I may interject…” The demon spoke in a deep, but reformed voice, contrasting any conversations in English that any other demons present had attempted. “General Suleyk is not only being healed, but per General Annette’s request, I have been experimenting on Suleyk for a new combat operation.”

Vakerys remained still, his scythe still poised in the air as he awaited the demon’s explanation. Suleyk remained still as well, not wanting to receive a severed leg in an attempt to escape, or a removed head.

“Having noted General Suleyk’s failure in the first ambush, General Annette gave me authority to attempt a new procedure if he were to fail once more. This procedure, if successful, would increase General Suleyk’s combat efficiency exponentially.”

“And if it is a failure, like him?” Vakerys questioned, lowering his scythe and turning to face the demon with newfound interest.

“Then he will die. The procedure will fully rework his body and powers, and a failure would cause his body to overload at the first attempt of using his powers, giving anyone nearby an unwanted blood shower.” The demon replied, and caused a wide grin to spread across Vakerys’s lips.

“Good, good. Annette, put Suleyk in the operating room. I want the operation to being as soon as possible.” Vakerys waved his hand towards Suleyk, as if he were an insect in the air as the grinning man stepped before the new demon. “What is your name? I don’t think I’ve ever met you before.”

The demon knelt briefly before standing at attention to address Vakerys; “I am called Vetis by the higher demons. I was sent here only a few days ago to oversee any possible medical assistance.”  

Vakerys’s grin widened before he let out a short cackle. “Ah… Vetis, I have a feeling you and I will enjoy this partnership.” The blonde man patted Vetis’s shoulder, and received a respectful nod.

“I’m sure we will, Lord Vakerys.” Vetis kept his same monotone throughout their conversation, but Vakerys could see the eagerness in the demon’s red and black eyes as they met with his own forest green pair.

---


Chatter echoed through the courtyard as its occupants—consisting of both dragons and angels—exchanged speculation of why they were all gathered together. Ravir had told them to await Silver, but told them nothing more, per Silver’s instructions to her before she left to gather everyone she could. They all faced towards the royal quarters, not entering the marble hallway, as Ravir told them Silver would be coming in from that path. Shards of still-smoking metal were embedded in the walls here and there from the earlier meteor volleys. Ravir stood at the entrance to the marble hallway, overlooking the gathering of dragons and angels. She was surprised to see the two species not bickering as they normally did. Save for Silver and Morokah, most angels held resentment towards dragons, even through the passed 600 years since the treaty between the two powerful species.

All the chatter came to a complete halt as all eyes locked on the figure that strode through the marble hallway. All eyes were on Silver as he stepped out into the light. He looked over the entirety of the gathering, making sure they were all silent before he spoke.

“Today is a solemn day in the history of this kingdom. After the assault on these walls, my father and Dragon King, Morokah Anei Ryuu, succumb to his wounds on the battlefield.” Silver paused to let the wave of gasps, roars of anger and sadness, and downward glances of reverence all passed, and all eyes returned back to the boy standing before them. “Morokah passed the title of King on to me, but until my father’s memorial service is complete, I will remain with the title of Prince. Until the end of my father’s memorial service, Morokah is still king, and I am still a prince.” Silver once again let the cries of sorrow for Morokah and cheering for himself die down before continuing, “My father did not die in vain. I swear that I will personally eradicate the bastard that dared to take my father and our king from us!” Silver’s voice rumbled with power and authority, sending a shockwave of pride and cheers through the crowd. Silver glanced back towards Ravir, who beamed and tilted her head a bit, showing Silver she was happy the best she could through her helmet.

The cheers, however, began to die down and a few angels looked behind Silver. Silver caught notice of their glances and whirled around.

A figure stood in the arch of the marble hallway, his white and silver armor glinting off the edge of sunlight. The red linings of his armor plating and multi-colored eyes standing out from the simple colors he wore.

“Commander Sieger! You’re feeling better?” Ravir stood at attention, as did the other angels in the crowd. Silver stood straight up as well, but something struck him odd.
“Yes, I am. Lord Silver, I heard about your father. I’m sorry what happened…” The angel’s voice was hoarse and weak, but he managed to keep his stance refined and still.

A pair of heavily armored angels rushed to Sieger’s side, kneeling quickly before standing at attention.

“Commander, what happened? We thought you would be out for months with your injuries.” The first angel asked, meeting Sieger’s gaze.

“Yes, I thought so as well, as did the doctors.” Sieger’s gaze slowly drifted to Ravir, who felt a wave of unease rock her. “But you… You left me to die there.”

This comment caught Silver and Ravir off guard, causing them to exchange worried glances.

“Sir, you told Silver and I to leave, and that you could handle those two dragons.” Ravir interjected, her voice quivering audibly.

“I told Lord Silver to go. You should’ve stayed to help me. You left me there to be defeated by those two. You basically handed me to them on a silver platter.” Sieger’s voice crackled deeply, unlike Silver had heard any angel’s voice before. The angel faced the crowd and jutted his hand out towards Ravir. “This angel left me at the hands of two skilled dragon generals to die, despite my orders! By the Order of the Angelic Forces, you are a traitor!”
This is the tenth chapter of the second book following the saga of Silver. Silver finds himself now in partial control of Earth's domain, having become the prince of the dragon kingdom. Although Silver stomped Zenroh's efforts to overthrow his father, turmoil still runs rampant in the kingdom, and is starting to spill out on to Earth. Now the effects of the lingering turmoil has hit the kingdom itself, and inner turmoil has begun to corrode the kingdom from the inside out.
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